Is Qualification Reform the Answer to Boosting Vocational Education?

The headline announcement in the Post-16 White Paper published today is the introduction of V Levels. These, we are told, are intended to replace the array of BTECs, City & Guilds, and other Applied General qualifications which were due to be phased out as T Levels came in. Once again, the DfE have chosen to tackle the issues around Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)  in England by resorting to qualification reform. What is it about English educational culture that drives us to do what no other country does – to constantly tweak and fiddle with our TVET products and brands? 

There are very few details about these new V-Levels yet, but from a Lifelong Education perspective they’ll need to be suitable not just for young people but also for adults, and address the crucial challenge of constructing a qualification pathway that doesn’t automatically point people towards university. Whatever else they do,  V-Levels must provide a platform for learners to progress to Higher Apprenticeships and Higher Technical Qualifications, to make the Prime Minister’s new, broader target for higher education participation achievable. 

Is qualification reform the answer to boosting vocational education? Only partly, if at all. Better funding, better paid lecturers, better careers advice and guidance, and a complete re-design of a school accountability framework that focuses primarily on academic exam performance are also needed. Let’s hope all of these other things happen sooner rather than later, but for the moment, it’s Va Va Voom V-Levels.